The Development of an Orphan

Before T went to Ethiopia to meet Khalil, I had special instructions for him on things to look for in Khalil.

A little background on us and our referral of Khalil. Many adoptive families, before they accept a referral for a child, will bring all the medical documents received to an international adoption clinic to make sure the child is somewhat healthy before adopting him. T and I had planned to do that also. We believe that all children deserve homes, but we didn't feel equipped emotionally or financially to deal with special needs. Then on May 4th, we received our referral. We read about Khalil's background, we read about the limited medical history on him, and saw his picture. Within one hour of receiving our referral, we had formally accepted it. We didn't run anything by the medical clinic like we had planned. We saw him and just knew he was our son. We also had the realization that all children pose risks. They can be born healthy and develop something. We truly didn't care. Khalil was our son, and I hoped and prayed that he was as healthy as the Ethiopian doctor was suggesting, but either way, he was our son and we were his parents.

Back to T's trip to Ethiopia. I wanted T to check certain things about him just so we are as prepared as possible when he comes home. T did an amazing job too! He sat him up to see if he could, and well, Khalil unfortunately face planted into the ground. Okay. . . so he can't sit up quite yet. T put him on his belly, and he had great arm and neck strength. One thing T noticed about Khalil though is that when he would lift him up, he would keep his legs curled up like a newborn. I have no doubt that is more about the fact that he lies down all day and therefore just hasn't used his legs.

So often, T and I will be sitting here playing with Scarlett, who isn't even 6 weeks old yet, and T will say, wow, Scarlett's legs are so strong. . . Khalil can't even do that yet. Khalil is being taken care of so well, but the truth is, is that nothing can replace the affection, attention, and the touch of parents. I am confident though that Khalil will catch up. We are going to work with him diligently, we are going to give him love and time, and we are going to get him into the appropriate medical professionals who can help him. We have no doubt that he will catch up.

Having children is such a leap of faith. I'm not usually a leaper in life, but I would take this leap all over again if it meant this is what my family would look like.